Tripping
by K.E. Strokez
Summary: The fallout from the Real Housewives drama leads the Adams Fosters to Hollywood and unwanted fame. Featuring Sherri Polo and Degenerossi.
1. Chapter 1

**Continues from Our Night. Maybe read it first, but methinks you can start here and pretty much get it.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Lena Adams Foster looked at the clock. They really hadn't got much sleep the night before. She smiled when she remembered why.

Her wife had fallen asleep with an arm draped over her waist. She could hear the soft sound of Stef's breathing and hated to have to wake her up. The curly-haired woman rolled over and watched the blonde half-smile with her eyes shut.

"When did you wake up?"

"About fifteen minutes ago. Had this amazing dream about us being in a hotel...and ice."

Lena kissed her nose. "That wasn't a dream, Mama Tiger. I have the extremely-private hickeys to prove it."

Stef opened her eyes wide as her cheeks began to burn up.

"Honey," Lena sighed "we have two hours to get to work."

"I thought we were going home first."

"Of course we are. I'm not going to a staff meeting dressed like I was last night."

Her wife laughed. "Well I always keep a spare uniform in my locker, so I technically don't have to go with you."

"We only took one car, remember?"

Someone's phone buzzed and lit up. It was Stef's.

"Mike says he's making breakfast for the kids. Looks like he stayed the night."

"This might be weird coming from me," Lena admitted "but I'm glad he was there with them last night. Now, how do we punish Mariana?"

"Thank you for ruining the morning cuddle."

"I'm serious," the curly-haired woman insisted "we can't have Mariana giving out our address to the internet. There are a lot of crazy people out there."

"And not to mention we have two hours to get to our jobs, which almost always require us NOT to stand out too much."

Lena kissed her. "One hour and fifty-five minutes."

"Stop counting or it'll go by faster."

"...and fifty-four minutes..."

"Fiiiine," the policewoman pulled away from their embrace, reluctantly stepped out of bed and stretched.

"Looks like I marked you too," her wife smiled.

She lay on her side with her hair cascading down her shoulders. The pre-dawn light made her brown skin glow as the rays bounced off the curve of her unclothed body.

"Ya'know," Stef proposed "we'd save more time, and water, if you joined me in the shower."

* * *

"You were AWESOME, Moms!" Mariana chirped as they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Jesus agreed as well "That guy went down like a...thing that goes down pretty fast."

"Good to see Timothy's English classes have been paying off," Stef smirked as she and Lena headed upstairs.

Mike looked out of place in an apron, but he made excellent coffee. Which the kids were drinking, despite their not being allowed to.

Lena walked back down to confiscate Jude's mug and went upstairs again.

Callie pointed at something on Mama's shoulder blade while Mariana squinted to see what it was. And then she had grimaced.

"What?" Jesus asked when the woman had left.

" _She has a hickey."_

" _She has like three of them,"_ Callie added.

"GROSS!" Jesus complained as he lost his appetite. "Old people shouldn't be giving people hickeys. It's like _illegal_."

"You guys know they're younger than I am, right?" Mike raised a thick eyebrow at them.

Mariana's phone rang.

"Yeah, this is she. And before you think of tracking this cell phone, I've disabled the locator chip AND used an app to fool your spyware. I bet you think I'm speaking from a police station right now. It's exactly where you'll end up if you keep harassing me."

"You need me to take care of that?" Mike asked her "There are some pretty sick people out there."

"Oh no. I want them to keep calling me back. The more elusive I am, the more I get paid for Moms' information."

"That's just _wrong_ ," Jude shook his head.

"I agree," Stef walked into the kitchen and took her daughter's phone, which she slipped into the back pocket of her uniform trousers.

"Mom!"

"You're not getting this back for a month," came the verdict.

"But what if I need to call people?"

"Consider it a history lesson," Lena remarked as she walked into the kitchen "reliving a time before cell phones were invented. How...ever...did...we...survive?"

She said the last parts while confiscating the other phones at the table.

"No fair!" The rest of the kids complained.

"What if we need to, like, call you guys or something?" Mariana argued.

"We're going to spend the whole day in the same compound," the Vice Principal shrugged "I'm sure you could _manage_ to stop by my office."

"Plus you're all grounded," Stef added right after that as she snagged a piece of toast off Mike's plate.

"It was HER idea!" Four teenage voices – and index fingers – shouted.

"And you LET her do it," Mom continued "why do you think Mike came here last night? To share some pizza with you guys?"

"Why DID he come here anyway?" Mariana asked "Sorry to sound rude, Mike."

"No problem," he answered "and if you must know: I had to keep an eye on you guys. Reality TV people can be pretty cruel."

"But me and _Brandon_ can guard the house," Jesus insisted.

"Yeah, totally," the musician agreed "we just lock all the doors and leave Jesus outside without his pills."

"You're grounded for making that joke," Lena informed him.

"Wow," everyone else at the table chorused.

"What?" The curly-haired woman asked, looking puzzled "Did I grow a beard or something?"

"You NEVER ground people," Brandon replied. Like everyone else, his mouth hung open when he didn't need to speak.

"I suspend and expel them, sure. Which one would you rather take?"

"I gotta head out," Mike got up.

"Thanks for making breakfast," Jude said.

* * *

"Good thing we waited for the kids to leave before we did this," Lena remarked as she placed the final phone on the driveway.

"It's not like they're not getting brand new ones when we're done," Stef said as she walked into the car.

She started up the engine and carefully reversed over the devices. Mariana's phone rang for a final time before it was crushed.

"No no no no no," Stef insisted as she dove out of the car "I'll do that."

"I've swept the driveway before, Stef."

"And now I want to do it," the policewoman insisted "after all, I made the mess."

"Look, let's both do it. Saves time, right?"

The blonde blushed and winked at the memory of the time-and-water-saving they had done in the shower earlier.

"Behave yourself, Stefanie Marie," came the warning, with the wagging finger.

Mike called when they were about to drive off.

"There've been...more videos," the man sighed "guys down at the station said they surfaced late last night and early this morning. One with singing waiters or something and the other with you guys in some kinda hallway. And Stef seems to be carrying you into a room or something."

" _Oh no,"_ Lena hid her face in her palms.

"Can you get them taken down?"

"Someone sold them to the Real Housewives. It's officially their property now. Plus they've stayed away from your home."

"Much good that does," Stef grunted "we're going to be identified. And someone's probably given them our address by now."

Lena anticipated what would come next, and decided to call her boss.

"I completely understand," Sanchez finally agreed "go to the police station first. The meeting's not until eleven thrity anyway."

"Thank you so much," the Vice Principal thanked, and hung up.

"How did you know they were gonna ask you to come down to the station?" Stef looked at her wife in wonder.

"I'm married to a cop," Lena shrugged.

"Captain Roberts is waiting for you guys," Mike continued "she says you should both go straight to her office."

"Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?" The curly-haired woman asked as Stef drove them to her place of work. "Do you know this is the second time in twenty four hours that we're going there?"

"Welcome to my world," the blonde sighed as the streets rushed past them.

* * *

"The videos have gone viral," Captain Roberts informed the women seated before her as she ran a hand over her neat afro.

She only touched her hair when she was thinking deeply about things. And very few things could make a woman with her experience in the force think that deeply.

"These things don't last, right?" Lena asked the room.

Stef and the Captain were the only others in there, and they both nodded.

"But before they die out, they can get pretty nasty," Stef added.

"Your address has been posted on reddit, 4chan and 8chan. Most of the posts about you focus on how good you look together. The rest are basically pornographic, and mostly sick."

"But it will die out."

"Evan Markham senior is a really rich person. I'd say this is more about him than it is about you."

"Then why isn't anyone posting the address to his McMansion on redchan or whatever it's called?" Stef asked.

"Because he can pay for the best security, and you can't," the Captain informed them "now don't get me wrong: the guy is a scum bag. But you guys are too easy to take down. From what I can see in the online activity, especially in the past hour, there's a conspiracy that's been hatched about how you could both be involved in the case. That you're somehow in cahoots with the Markham triplets to take their father down."

"Oh _come on_ ," Stef complained.

"Smack the father in the head with a shoe, then wind up at his restaurant with his son singing to you an hour later?"

"It was a coincidence," Lena defended "we made that reservation weeks ago. And does everyone know who owns each place they eat at?"

"The people in these chat rooms are unstable," the Captain continued "they're looking for someone to pick on. And it looks as if the reckless multi-millionaire isn't going to be the one they swarm after."

"So what do we do?"

"Confiscate your kids' cell phones."

"We crushed them in the driveway this morning," Stef replied "Lena's idea."

"Good," the Captain agreed "the next step won't be so...appealing to you."

* * *

 **Hello, all. Please review. And thanks for the support you showed for Our Night.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So, what's Captain Robert's plan? (This author's note will probably change when I edit the story.)**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _The kids were at home and both women had left to take a drive. Tempting though the numerous motels were, they had driven past them and decided to enjoy the Sunday afternoon scenery instead._

 _But then Lena had wanted to park. And Stef had realized that she needed "lady-things". So, sighing to themselves that they were synchronized and Lena would probably need "lady-things" too, they had driven to the nearest convenience store._

 _Stef had ducked into the bathroom while Lena frowned at the ridiculous tabloid magazines that framed an entire shelf. Sure, the display was colorful, but did the writers at those magazines actually READ what they churned out every week?_

 _An elderly woman had pushed a pram into the store, and Lena had helped her get it over one particularly nasty-looking liner close to the door._

" _Thank you so much, dear," the woman had smiled, and instinctively looked at her helper's hands._

" _You're welcome," Lena had replied "do you need any more help, Ma'am?"_

" _Actually...I noticed you weren't wearing a wedding ring," the old woman had smiled "and the way you smiled at little Lilly here..."_

 _The Vice Principal had thought the baby in the pram was adorable. Sleeping kids were always charming._

" _...you should come over to dinner one night," the pram-pusher had continued "my son Jacob would really like you. He's my youngest."_

 _Lena had raised a puzzled eyebrow. No one had tried to fix her up since she had come out to her parents years before. Except for that one awkward time when they had tried to fix her up with a busty yoga instructor who was actually more into Lena's mother._

" _I'm actually..."_

 _The man had burst into the store and reached into his overcoat. Something about the way he moved made the curly-haired woman's blood run cold. She seized the pram in one hand and the old woman's arm in the other._

 _By the time the man had discharged his shotgun into the ceiling, they were on the floor and the pram had been pushed out of view._

" _YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS!" He yelled with the barrel of his gun pointed right at the guy at the counter's chest._

" _Please...don't shoot!"_

" _EMPTY THE COUNTER NOW!"_

" _I need a bag or something," the bald shop owner was calm, despite the position he was in._

" _Crap!" The robber had sworn to himself. He knew he'd forgotten something._

" _Put them in those grocery bags over there."_

" _I'll have to leave the counter," the shop owner had motioned to the mini-door at the side, which the robber would have to step back from to let him leave._

" _No! No..."_

 _The man looked around and spotted someone laying on the floor next to a pram._

" _You!" He barked at her "Get over here!"_

 _Lena had risen from the floor and complied._

" _You're a pretty thing, aren't ya?"_

 _She had shuddered._

" _Fill those grocery bags with the cash from the counter. And put some beer in it. You're coming with me."_

 _Lena remained outwardly calm, and her hands didn't shake as she stuffed the wads of bills into the bags as asked. The man was distracted._

" _Unzip your jacket."_

" _Nope," someone had said, just as something had come crashing down on the back of the man's head._

 _He had staggered, and would have dropped to the ground if Stef hadn't slipped on a piece of fallen plaster and thrown her aim off. He turned to face his attacker, and Stef ducked as the butt of the shotgun had swung out._

 _She had kicked him in the ribs before punching him in the face, ducking round him and snapping his arm back. The weapon had discharged harmlessly into the far wall, and she had applied more pressure to his joint until it had finally given way and he dislocated his shoulder._

 _He had dropped to the floor, and she had reached behind her jacket to produce an unfamiliar gun and aim it at the screaming criminal._

" _Stay on the ground and don't move, sir!" Stef had barked at the man._

" _You're a cop?" The shop keeper had asked her._

" _Officer Foster, San Diego PD," Stef had replied "and my girlfriend, Lena Adams. I think she called the cops."_

 _Lena had nodded. "When I was on the floor."_

* * *

"Absolutely _not_!" Lena raised her voice and almost shouted.

"You heard what Captain Roberts said, Lena," Stef argued back "we need positive publicity to push back against that Markham scumbag."

"But we've done so much to keep that incident secret," her wife sighed "because we didn't _want_ that kind of publicity."

"What else are we gonna use, then?"

"I'd have thought the video of you chasing down that Markham scumbag would be enough to convince the world that you're a hero."

"Apparently it isn't. All the world sees is a woman in an evening dress running after a rich guy."

"You weren't in uniform when you stopped that robbery either," the curly-haired woman reminded her "but I guess you'd like the world to see the surveillance footage of that scene because it makes you look good."

" _Lena!"_

"You're a cop, and your WIFE helped to apprehend a suspect who was resisting arrest. I get it: your pride was dented."

"That's NOT what I-"

"Then why do you want to break the promise we made NOT to talk about the robbery?"

"Because we have to control the _narrative_ if we want to keep our family _safe_."

Someone knocked on the office door. Captain Roberts stepped in. Someone else walked in with her, namely Mike and-

" _Sanchez?"_ Lena gasped, and could barely hide her surprise at the sight of her boss.

"As of five minutes ago, someone tried to fire-bomb your house. Good thing they had bad aim. All they did was scorch your lawn," the Captain told the women.

"We can't guarantee the safety of the children at the school if you're associated with it," the Principal of Anchor Beach continued "so until this mess has been dealt with, you are suspended, Lena."

" _What?!"_

"And we can't have you on the force until this crap goes away," Captain Roberts stated to her subordinate "so you're suspended too, Stef."

"What about the kids?"

"We think they should get out of town for a while," the Captain stated "your parents live out of state, right Lena?"

"But Callie..."

"We're drafting up the paperwork to keep her with your family," Mike informed them "listen, guys: you've done nothing wrong. The suspensions are just to make sure you can explain your absences from work if it ever comes up in your records."

"Gee _thanks_ ," Stef sighed "and then what do we do? Live in someone's bomb shelter until the internet forgets we exist?"

"You go on the offensive," the Captain explained "we leak the footage of the robbery to the press. The internet will be awash in it. And then Markham senior's lawyers will back off."

"Fine," Lena agreed "let's do it."

"A minute ago you wouldn't even _consider_ it," Stef huffed.

"A minute ago our lawn wasn't _partially set on fire_ ," her wife growled "I have to call my parents."

* * *

The video hadn't officially been online for seven minutes when Lexi saw it. She started up her computer, typed in the address of one of her favorite TV shows, and opened up a word processor to write her letter.

"Dear Ellen," she began "I'm writing to tell you about an amazing family who're going through a hard time..."

* * *

 **Please review. And hey: second episode of Season 3 tonight! Who's excited?**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's obvious by now, but I have to say it anyway, for peace of mind.**

 **The Fosters belongs to its respective owners.**

 **The Ellen DeGeneres show (and her white couches) is (/are) the respective property of whoever it (/they) legally belong(s) to. It's also an incredible show, which is why I'm including it.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

"For those of you who don't know," the blonde woman with short hair, a unique voice and striking blue eyes spoke to her audience – both at home and in the studio – "June is officially Pride Month."

The audience clapped politely.

"Not too many gay people in the audience today," she remarked "which makes sense. I mean it's Pride Month. Who'd be indoors listening to the Queen of the Gays when they could be outside sweating and getting stepped on by 300-pound men in high heels."

The laugh was louder than she had expected it to be. She let it happen, paused for the appropriate length of time for it to die out, and went on speaking.

"So we at Ellen and our friends would like to dedicate this show – and possibly others – to the notion of Pride. Not just the parades and excuse to drink before 11am..."

More laughter.

"...but to take pride in people. Normal, every day people who do incredible things. Like the wonderful Portia de Rossi who, like any normal person, was a child model, an actress and is married to the woman who first broke twitter."

The audience clapped and laughed as the cameras focused on another blonde woman sitting with the producers in the front row. She waved at the camera and shook her head as she smiled and clapped back at Ellen.

"Or Betty DeGeneres, who moved around a lot, wrote an incredible book and did a lot of work for PFLAG...in addition to giving birth to the Queen of Daytime."

The audience laughed and clapped once more as the camera zoomed in on the cheerful elderly woman in her favorite seat in the stands.

"See? Why would you go to Pride when you can sit indoors with royalty, is what I'm asking."

* * *

"Do we really need this much makeup?" Lena complained as something else was brushed across Stef's face.

"The lights get brighter every year," the makeup artist apologized "we have to compensate."

"This is like, so exciting," Mariana said for the millionth time that day.

"We know," Brandon groaned "now can we _please_ get this over with so that Mariana can meet World?"

"They'll call us when they're ready," Jesus kicked back in his seat "hey has anyone seen Jude?"

"I think he went out into the hallway or something."

"Alone?" Stef asked.

" _Oops,"_ Mariana whispered.

"Someone go get him! Now!" The police woman barked.

Callie stepped out of the room and found her brother standing in the hallway, looking up at the numerous posters of the previous guests on the show.

"There's Madonna!" He gasped.

"You are _so gay_ ," Jesus shrugged his shoulders "but in a good way."

"Who's that?" Brandon asked as he stood before another poster.

Lena had walked out of the room to see what was going on. She went up to her eldest son and looked at the image on the wall.

"It's Melissa Etheridge!"

"Who?"

She stared wide-eyed at her flock of kids.

"How could you NOT know who Melissa Etheridge is? Brandon? No?"

"I have no idea," he shrugged.

"In Pride Month, of all times," Lena shook her head and walked back into the room.

"We need to teach these kids more about LGBT history," she announced to her wife.

"What?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

Stef couldn't stop staring at her reflection.

"That's nice, honey."

Her wife folded her arms across her chest. The makeup artist left to get something from another room. She watched as the blonde in the chair turned her face sideways to look at herself rom several different angles.

"You should take a selfie," Lena suggested.

"Good idea," her wife agreed as she picked her phone off the table in front of her and began to angle the camera.

Lena watched her take dozens of photos, all of which she was sure would end up looking exactly the same.

"Should I get Mariana to help with that?"

"Oh no: I got this _down_ ," Stef pouted to take several more.

The curly-haired woman rolled her eyes, as a producer walked up to them. The kids flocked into the room and sat themselves on the couches.

"So here's how it'll go, guys," he read from the clipboard he didn't look up from "first is Jeff and Tina."

"You mean _Stef_ and _Lena_ ," the policewoman corrected him.

"Oh, right. Sorry: an intern must be punking people again," the man apologized "Stef and Lena, you go out first. Then we bring the kids in after the break."

"You said there'd be three parts," Stef questioned him "did you cut something out?"

"No comment," the man insisted "we have a five-second delay, but don't get too comfortable with swearing."

"We don't swear," Lena corrected him again.

"Oh...right...but things happen when you're on TV for the first time. I'm just offering some advice."

" _It's cable,"_ Lena sighed to herself _"people walk around nude and brain each other with baseball bats, but swearing's where we draw the line."_

* * *

"Our next guests are an incredible couple who've spent years in public service..."

"Isn't that how she'd have introduced the Obamas if they were here?" Stef joked.

"Do you intend to run for office?" Lena joked back, and took a few steps forward to wrap her arms around her wife's waist.

"I don't wanna smudge my makeup."

Lena pulled away and cleared her throat.

"...from San Diego, California: please welcome Stef and Lena Adams Foster!"

* * *

"It's great to be here," Stef nodded as she and Lena sat side by side.

"So you're a police officer, is that right?"

"At the San Diego Police Department, yeah," came the reply "and Lena's a teacher."

The suspended Vice Principal could have given her wife an angry look if they weren't being filmed.

"And you two recently got married, is that right?"

"Fairly recently, yeah," Stef replied.

"And how long have you guys been together?" Ellen was looking right at Lena when she asked the question.

"A little over ten years," Stef interrupted Lena to reply.

"Kinda like me and Portia," their host remarked "shoulda had you on the show sooner. You guys are the cutest couple."

The audience sighed as a photo from the Adams Foster wedding was displayed on the giant monitor behind them.

" _How did they get that?"_ The curly-haired woman asked herself as she looked at one of her favorite photos from that day.

Lena looked out at the audience and happened to see her host's wife in her seat. She waved, and Portia waved back.

"Hey!" Ellen joked as she looked from the woman on the couch to the one with the producers.

"She's amazing on Scandal," Lena gushed without thinking.

"Isn't she?"

"Should I be worried?" Stef joked "You seem to have a thing for blondes."

Lena blushed, and looked up at the ceiling like she did when she was nervous, and slightly irritated.

Ellen directed some questions at Lena, who answered at least two of them before Stef could cut in. and then it was time to go on break.

"We have to go on break now, but coming up next: we meet the rest of the Adams Foster family."

"Is something wrong, honey?" Stef whispered in her wife's ear as the commercials rolled. "You haven't said a word since we got here."

"Maybe if I had the CHANCE to speak, then I would have. And how did they get the wedding photos?"

"I gave them the album to look through. They were very polite when they asked for them. Seemed like a shame not to...oh."

"You didn't ask _me_."

"I'm sorry, babe. I was so caught up in everything that I forgot. But your answer would still have been yes, right?"

"Actually, it wouldn't."

"You're trending on twitter," an assistant smiled at them as she led them away from the set so they could bring the larger couch out.

"Yeah? Trending in a good way?" Stef asked her.

"The internet thinks Lena is hot. And that moment between you and Portia was darling. Hashtag wifebffs."

"I haven't even met her yet," Lena sighed "I can't be BFFs with someone I-"

"We're trending on twitter," Mariana stated as she walked in "which makes total sense cos the audience have their phones, even though this isn't a live show."

"This isn't even _live_?" Lena was irritated. What was she so nervous about if they were going to edit everything anyway?

"You just met the Queen of all Lesbians," their daughter reminded her Mama "why the long face?"

"More straight people like her than gay ones, you know," came the reply "it's why she has this show, and all the merchandise, and the-"

"Don't ruin the magic by stating facts, honey," Stef remarked as she kissed her wife's cheek.

"That's a pretty bold move for someone who's scared of smudging her makeup," Lena retorted.

"What?" Stef had been staring at a mirror again.

"Stef? Lena?" An assistant warned them "We need you guys out in three."

"Make me proud, my babies," Stef waved at the kids as they had their mics attached to heir clothes.

The women left the backstage area and found that the set looked much more comfortable with the larger couch on it.

"So," Ellen whispered to Lena as they sat down next to each other "are you guys in town for much longer? After the show, I mean."

"We might be," Lena replied "though I'm not sure. The kids have to get back to their grandparents' home as soon as they can."

"The world is full of mean and crazy people," their host sighed.

"We're back in 5...4..." someone announced.

The kids were marched out onto the stage and placed in their seats on the couch. Only, one of them was missing.

" _Where's Brandon?"_ Stef panicked.

Lena held her arm and kissed her cheek. _"Don't worry about it."_

" _Our son is missing!"_ Stef hissed back.

Something sounded throughout the studio and everyone went silent. It was the sound of someone playing the piano.

The massive side-doors slid aside to show a young man seated at a piano. And he kept playing it.

" _Told you,"_ Lena whispered back _"it's a belated birthday present. From me. Now stop shaking."_

* * *

"And now it's time for our next segment called 'who's in my bushes'?"

They waited for the brief comical tune to play as the next segment began. The Adams Fosters had been asked to stay, after the kids had been dismissed.

"I actually have two people in my bushes today," Ellen announced as the segment officially kicked off "and our guests will probably cheat but it's Pride Month so I'll let 'em."

Stef and Lena looked puzzled.

"We heard from a reliable source," their host continued "that you both played a game a few years back. It's a game a lot of people play, apparently, called 'Who would play you in a movie'?"

Lena and Stef clasped their hands over their mouths.

"Yeah, they got it right away. I still have to guess who in my bushes anyway. It's weird the people who've wound up in there."

The audience laughed.

"Do you have a tattoo, person number one?"

"No!" Came the reply.

"How about person number two?"

"Kinda."

"How do you KINDA have a tattoo? Are you a teenager?" Ellen shouted at the plants obscuring her surprise guests.

"No! And person number one isn't either!"

"Is your hair long?"

"Yes," the answer was repeated once more.

"Is your hair...blonde?"

The verdict: one blonde and one non-blonde. Stef and Lena were wriggling in excitement.

"Okay, I'd say I give up," Ellen sighed after a few more tries "but I have the answers, so whatever. Come on out, Sherri Saum and Teri Polo!"

* * *

 **As I said: this story is highly experimental. Please review, and thanks for reading. Next: doppelganger thangs.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Coming Home is something I made up. It's not to be compared to or confused with any actual show going by the same name.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

"So," the host remarked when everyone had calmed down and was seated "I betcha _this_ doesn't happen every day."

The actresses were seated on the other side of the wide couch, and seemed to be charmed by the married couple who sat between them and Ellen.

"Maybe you should bring Jane Lynch out here and confuse the world forever," Teri Polo joked, and everyone, including the camera crew, laughed.

"Happy Pride Month, everybody!" Sherri Saum insisted, and the applause was louder than it had been before.

"This is like the time Kate McKinnon was here and she pretended to be you," Stef gushed. She had turned bright pink.

"Doppelganger Tuesday, is what this is," Ellen agreed "now I know TMZ is going to ask this eventually, but I'll do it anyway just to be petty."

The audience laughed once more.

"Sherri's hair and Lena's hair. Who wore it better?"

Lena would have been offended to be compared that way, but she was so thrilled to meet the actress that she couldn't stop smiling.

"I'd say Lena did," Sherri remarked before the audience could yell out their answers.

Stef turned to face her wife and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Lena smouldered and seemed to sink lower in her chair.

"She's a shy one, isn't she?" Teri remarked "I like 'em shy."

"Easy there, soldier," Stef battled "this one's spoken for."

" _Man_ this is fun," Ellen grinned as she enjoyed the banter.

A producer tapped his watch and she sighed. She hated that they were on someone else's time and had to cut things.

"So Sherri and Teri," the host began "you're about to start shooting the third season of your show. Congratulations."

The audience clapped.

"For those of us who might not know about it," Ellen remarked "(and if you don't, how dare you?) tell us what it's about."

"Created by _the amazing_ Jennifer Lopez. It's about a soldier serving in Iraq and her wife back home who's a doctor," Teri explained "I play the soldier, of course."

" _Of course,"_ Lena gushed.

"Check out these guns, huh? Huh?" The blonde actress flexed her muscles, which the curly-haired actress pinched.

"Nah," Sherri delivered her verdict when she was done.

"What do you mean, nah?" Her co-star gasped.

"I'd say Stef has the bigger guns, wouldn't you?"

Stef flexed, even though she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. And Sherri repeated the action with the policewoman's biceps.

"Yep. Stef wins."

"Does having teenage sons make you want to work out?" Teri asked Stef when the spontaneous competition had ended.

"I'd say their having me for a Mom makes _them_ wanna work out," came the reply.

Lena and Sherri raised their eyebrows. Ellen nodded, very visibly impressed.

"Have you ever played a doctor before?" Lena asked her doppelganger.

"Only when I was a kid," came the reply "I used to run around with a toy stethoscope and ask people to say 'ah' all the time."

"Shonda Rhimes? Are you listening to this?" Teri ventured, pointing conspicuously at her co-star and mouthing _"the next McDreamy. Right here."_

"So Sherri and Lena, you both have something in common," Ellen remarked "since your spouses are both in uniform."

Stef seemed to puff her chest out when she realized she was the only one there who was the real deal.

"People wish Sherri and I were a real couple," the blonde actress admitted "it's almost hard to believe we're not. I think even I forget sometimes."

"Like I obviously just did," Ellen admitted "oops."

"Oh no," Sherri corrected her "you're Ellen. If you bless a fictional lesbian couple, then the universe will work to preserve them."

"Maybe you should have Shonda Rhimes on the show and read her a list of grievances," Lena remarked, and Ellen laughed even harder.

"Ah, television," Teri sighed "the only place where you can make fun of your wife's boss without the _possibility_ of dire consequences."

Ellen spotted a producer tapping his watch as she tried to recover from the latest laughing fit.

" _Haaaaaaaah_ ," she sighed when she had processed the amusement, and the audience had settled down. "So, the next episode airs tomorrow?"

"Wednesday night at 9," Teri stated.

* * *

"Oh my god," Mariana remarked "you guys look so much like Moms it's creepy."

Jesus eyed the actresses, who stood next to each other with their arms around each other's waists.

" _I bet they're always touching on each other too,"_ he thought to himself _"why do old people act like they've got hormones or whatever?"_

"I suppose probability conspired to make us look alike so we could meet," Sherri remarked.

The Adams Foster women were in a different room, talking to Ellen after the show had ended. They had been asked to stay for a few more hours.

"It's deplorable the way you two have been treated," their hostess stated as she sat across the table from them "sometimes people will do anything for money."

"Well at least the judicial system isn't run by public opinion," Stef agreed.

"So the case is in court?"

"His lawyers keep stalling," Lena stated "but yeah: it's in court."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in, babe!" The talk show host with the sparkling blue eyes shouted.

Portia de Rossi walked into the office and introduced herself to the other two people in there.

"I'm so honored to meet you," Lena gushed as the lady pulled up a chair on the other side of the table and sat facing them.

"I just wish it had been in better circumstances," the actress remarked "but on the plus side: hashtag wifebffs!"

Lena laughed, and Stef wondered what they were talking about.

"We'd like to help you restore your house," Ellen said "this isn't some kinda corporate sponsorship thing, either."

"No cameras, no news reports," Portia added "this is from me and Ellen, no one else."

"We..."

Lena turned to face her wife. After the first failed fire-bombing, someone had broken into the house, doused the ground floor in kerosene and lit the place on fire. The top floor remained largely untouched, but the "premises were uninhabitable."

"Shall we give you time to discuss it?" Ellen asked the couple.

"We'll be in the hallway," Lena led her wife out of the room.

"We should take it," Stef remarked when the door had shut.

"What happened to paying our own way?" Lena remarked.

"We don't have a place to stay," Stef reminded her "and if we want to adopt Callie we're going to have to sort that out, and fast. We don't have enough to move into a new place permanently, and we're certainly not going to have enough to fix everything that wasn't working before."

"It feels wrong," Lena argued back "I know our current situation isn't ideal, but we have insurance. That should be enough to-"

"Why are you so content with the mediocre lives we're currently living when we could have much more, Lena?"

"Excuse me?" The curly-haired woman raised her eyebrows.

"You know what I meant."

"Are we so mediocre that you're being honored as a hero by OUR HEROES?" The Vice Principal asked her wife "Or is there something else you're not telling me?"

"The house still looks exactly the same as it did when we first moved in," Stef sighed "we work at the same places, we drive the same cars, we shop at the same malls, where we buy the same things. Year in, year out."

Lena let her talk.

"I wanted better for us. For you," her wife admitted "I had this plan all set out. We were going to adopt Mariana and Jesus. And then we were going to foster a few kids, while I made detective and we moved to a different neighborhood. One with less bikes crashing into fire hydrants and more McMansions."

"And what about _my_ career?"

"You can teach college too, remember? Finish your doctorate and become a full professor. You told me once that you'd like to do that."

"And then I saw how much help high school kids need to figure out the world they live in," Lena replied "and I dedicated the rest of my life to giving them that guidance. So what if it means I'll be living in the same house, working at the same place, buying the same things and driving the same car?"

"Don't you wonder what it'd be like to have fame? Money?"

"Look what fame's done to us the past couple of weeks," the curly-haired woman replied "would you wish this on anyone?"

"Silver linings, babe," Stef kissed her softly on the lips "we got to meet Ellen. And Portia."

Her wife laughed. "Well I _do_ seem to have a thing for blondes."

"Speaking of which," the police officer squinted "my guns are bigger than Teri's."

"And you actually _have_ a gun, remember?" Lena nuzzled her wife's neck "And a badge. And intense self-defense skills. And me."

They kissed, gently.

"And my hair's better than hers," Sherri Saum's doppelganger remarked in irritation "look all you want. She's a beautiful woman. But don't forget whose mane you get to play with every night when we're alone."

* * *

"Like, _THE_ Ellen DeGeneres' house?"

"It's Portia's too. And you can't bring your phones in with you."

"Well whatever. I'll have bragging rights for life anyway. No need to record it," Mariana shrugged.

"Hallelujah," Callie remarked.

"Did you know Melissa Etheridge is gay?" Brandon looked up from the magazine he was reading "and her guitar skills are _amazing_. I've watched her playing on youtube a couple of times."

"Will Madonna be there?" Jude asked.

"She might. They're related," Stef said.

"That's so cool!"

The family hadn't been in one place for over a week. They'd have preferred a more homely place to have their meal, but the top floor of a secluded Burger King would have to do.

"We have something to tell you guys," Lena cleared her throat.

"Are you guys splitting up?" Mariana asked, and Jesus almost literally knocked her off her chair.

"We are NOT!" Both women chorused.

"Cos if you guys split up, you should totally turn either Sherri or Teri into our stepmoms," Mariana inappropriately joked again.

The wives glanced at each other, then back at their kids.

"Actually," Stef announced "Mama and I are gonna invite Sherri and Teri to live with us. They're playing a lesbian couple on TV and they wanna do research."

"They wanna see how we live our every day lives," Lena continued "how we interact, how we handle having a big family..."

"How we _sleep_ ," Stef added with a wink.

Jesus stopped drinking and sat back with his arms folded over his chest.

"You're LYING," he growled at them "and even if you weren't...GROSS! Have you seen those two? They're like all over each other! Things will get worse!"

"Now you know why we won't let you have girls in your room."

"I'm not bringing them to the house from now on," the boy promised them "you guys have this serious...what's it called...urgh!"

"Do you think Sherri Saum's hot?" Callie asked Stef with a serious look on her face "cos after Wyatt and his hair, I think I might be bisexual."

"I think I might be bisexual too," Mariana agreed "and is it wrong that we're both crushing on the woman who would have played Mama in a movie?"

"It kinda is, yeah," Jude remarked.

"She _is_ hot, though," Brandon admitted "for an old person."

"So's Ellen. But Ellen's like _waaaaaay_ younger than you guys," Jesus stated.

"She is NOT...how old do you guys think we are?"

The teens passed puzzled expressions at each other as they tried to figure out who could answer Lena's question.

"Like 65?"

" _I guess that makes me 69,"_ Stef whispered in Lena's reddened ear.

* * *

 **More doppelganger thangs? It feels weird, writing about actual people. So weird.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: contains smut. You cheeky little parsnips, I saw those grins.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

"Do you know what I'm tired of?" Lena asked as Stef shut the door behind her. "Hotel rooms."

"So am I," Stef sighed "and a few weeks ago we were itching to get into one."

"Now we don't have a choice," her wife sighed as she took her shoes off.

Stef crossed to the window like she did every time they checked in for the night. She looked outside, made sure the climb would be too steep for any intruder wishing to gain entry through the terrace, searched under the bed, looked inside the lamp shade, took the picture off the wall...

"Should I check the bathroom for hidden devices too?"

"Do you know how?" The police woman asked, then realized that her wife was being sarcastic.

"I worry, okay?"

"So do I, Stef. But you're too paranoid."

"There's no such thing as _'too paranoid'_."

"Do you know who says that? People who are too paranoid."

The curly-haired one slumped onto the bed and exhaled as the blonde one continued to sweep the room. After a few more minutes, she sat up and watched her.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what, Lena?"

"Where you got that other gun."

"In a gun store," Stef replied.

"When?"

"I don't really remember. After I got shot, I suppose."

"Before the wedding, or after?"

"Lena...I knew you wouldn't like that I got one, which is why I didn't tell you about it. And why're you asking about it _now_?"

"Did you think I'd never find out?"

There was no reply. Stef stood up after examining the bedside cabinet and walked over to the other side of the bed. She knelt before her worried lover and took her hands in hers.

"Do you know what else I'm tired of?"

"No. Tell me," the blonde said as she looked up at her wife's gorgeous brown eyes.

"You not telling me things. Or asking me things. Or including me in decisions."

"That's because some things are meant to be decided on the spot," Stef sighed "not be put up for debate for a few days until someone gives in."

"Are you saying I'm incapable of making quick decisions?"

"I'm just saying you favor rational inquiry, no matter how long it takes," came the reply "and I'm more of a yes-no-right-now kinda thinker. Both are good. But not all the time."

"I make quick decisions too, you know," Lena sighed.

"I know. But it's not the same. And I'm sorry. I need to learn to slow down sometimes. And I have to remember I'm your _wife_ , not your husband."

Lena sank to the floor and held the sides of Stef's face.

"We haven't had sex since Room 609," the curly-haired woman sighed "do you find me unattractive?"

"Hell no," the blonde woman refuted "it's just...we've been moving from place to place. Looking over our shoulders. Worrying about the kids. Hearing about the house..."

"I know. But it doesn't mean I don't want you. Don't make me have to take care of myself, officer."

"Wow. It's that bad?"

"I hardly ever get to see you work. And ever since you got suspended you've been working to keep us safe 24-7. And you know what happens when I see you take charge. I can't keep my hands off you. "

Stef laughed. Lena didn't.

"I'm _SERIOUS_ ," she complained as she took Stef's hand and placed it... "don't make me beg."

"You are _soaking wet_ , Mrs. Adams Foster."

"I've been dying to mark my territory all day," Lena replied as she bit Stef's ear "Mrs... Adams... Foster."

* * *

" _I feel like," the newly-out woman had said as her lover had moaned in post-coital bliss "I'm on a journey, with this beautiful, wise teacher who always finds the best spots to give me a lesson...if that makes any sense."_

" _Like a field trip?" Lena had laughed._

" _Yes. Only...more interesting."_

" _Are you coming up here?"_

" _Not yet."_

 _Lena lay on the bed in her old apartment with her legs over the side. Between those legs had knelt Stef, who had proven herself to be a quick learner. She had lazily traced her finger on her girlfriend's outer folds, marveling at the nub that peeped out at her._

" _I think I need to catch my breath for a few minutes...if you're planning on starting something," Lena had warned "I don't think I've ever lasted that long before."_

" _I'll just be exploring, if you don't mind."_

 _Lena had raised herself on her elbows to look at the woman kneeling before her._

" _Do you?"_

" _Mind?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Not at all. As long as I get to return the favor later. And show you something I've discovered between one of your labia and your thigh."_

" _That sounds interesting..." Stef had replied "and I think you're very interested in what you have to show me, by the look of things."_

 _The stream of sweet-tasting liquid had casually dripped out of Lena's core when they were talking. It had to be a fresh one: Stef had licked her clean when they had finished their last session._

" _I suppose I can't help that you're so hot," the owner of that stream had sighed._

" _I'm still exploring, remember?"_

" _You aren't doing anything. Try find the source of the river."_

" _How?"_

" _You need a minimum of one finger, and someone who's willing to let you search."_

" _Do I have those?"_

 _Lena had sat up, bent over and gripped Stef's face. They kissed, deeply, for what seemed like an eternity. The blonde tried to rise. She was not permitted to. Instead, her right hand was seized and all of her fingers were bent except one._

" _Start with this one," came the instruction "gentle, slow. Learn me. I'll quiz you."_

 _Lena had lain back down, and Stef had lingered at her lover's entrance with her index finger. She was only supposed to be exploring, but she was already so excited that she was finding it hard to breathe._

" _Oh Lena..." she had gasped as the first knuckle had slowly slipped in._

* * *

" _Bed,"_ Lena gasped as their make-out session became more intense.

"No."

Stef rose, took two pillows off the bed and threw them on the floor.

Lena looked up at her wife with a puzzled yet longing expression on her face.

"You know what I wanted to do on those white couches all day?"

"No," the curly-haired woman admitted as she dragged one of the pillows towards her "what?"

"Slip my hand under your skirt while no one was looking," the blonde admitted.

"We were on TV, Stef," Lena laughed "everyone was looking. Now are you coming down here or what?"

Someone's phone rang. It was Stef's.

"You're on speaker," the blonde said as Lena sighed and lay on her stomach.

"I think you should come to the lobby, Stef."

"What's wrong, Mike? And when did you get here?"

"Please?"

"Go," Lena said "if you're not back up here in twenty minutes I'm coming down to fetch you."

* * *

Stef walked into the lobby and searched the thin crowd for her ex-husband. He wasn't there. Lena called her. She answered the call but didn't speak: she placed the phone in her jacket pocket instead and continued walking.

Her paranoia had rubbed off on Lena, who had decided they should call if either of them had to meet someone without the other.

Someone tapped the blonde police officer on the shoulder. She turned around and Mike was standing there.

"What's going on?"

"I think you should come with us," an unfamiliar voice said "no need to put your hands up, Mrs. Adams Foster."

Lena sat up started up the tracing app as the call went on. She reached for the hotel phone and dialed 911.

"Now," the voice coming from the smart phone said "my associates and I would like you both to ride with us. If you refuse, we'll bring your kids along with us. Mike was smart enough not to involve them. I'd like to think his partner would do the same."

"I'll come with you," Stef said "but Mike has nothing to do with this."

"He's involved now. We're not letting him go."

The sounds of cars and lots of people talking almost drowned out the rest of the conversation. They must have gone outside.

"Limo," Stef stated "very fancy. Do all of them come in black?"

Lena listened to the clues and prayed that there wouldn't be severe repercussions when the phone was discovered.

" _Police, ambulance or fire department?"_

" _Police,"_ Lena whispered into the phone's headset _"my wife and her ex-husband have been abducted."_

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update. I'll try to keep 'em regular. Anyway, please review. And thanks for the follows and faves.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I wrote myself into a corner with this story. Let's see how it works out.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

The video had been delivered on a CD later that night. It showed Mike and Stef seated in chairs with their hands tied behind their backs in a darkened room. They couldn't see windows, hear traffic outside or hear any planes flying over them. They couldn't even tell what time it was.

" **I'm sure you know we're serious by now,"** a distorted voice had narrated as the video went on **"and I know you're an obedient little teacher, so you'll follow our instructions to the letter."**

" **You will not visit your kids at their hotel,"** the instructions began **"you are only allowed to see them for fifteen minutes each day. And you can NOT tell them what's going on with their** _ **sexy**_ **mother."**

Lena bit back her rage and emailed the video to the one other person who had eavesdropped on the last phone call she and her wife had shared.

* * *

"LENA!" The woman screamed as the door slid open.

The kids picked up pace, but no one ran faster than the woman whose name had been called out. She raced to the blonde, who had jumped out of the police car before it came to a halt.

Their bodies clashed outside the police station. Arms encircled, breaths finally calm. They hugged for what seemed like an eternity, and then pulled apart.

Someone was talking to Brandon.

"Your dad had to go back to San Diego," the detective explained "he's still on the job, so he can't call you until he's done."

"Are they gonna catch the guys who did this?" Jesus wanted to know.

"As soon as Mike gets there," came the explanation "your dad's one helluva hunter. He'll solve this."

"He's not my dad," Jesus explained "but yeah, I understand."

"The kids are waiting for us. Everyone's here," Lena said as she dragged her wife indoors.

The group hug she received when she was in range was enough to warm the hearts of everyone watching them.

"I have to record a statement," the blonde sighed as Mariana dried her eyes.

"Maybe you guys should head back to the hotel," one of the detectives advised the kids "there's nothing much you can do here. Your mom will be with you soon."

* * *

"Alone at last," the blonde sighed as the door to their hotel room slowly shut.

"You're not Stef," Lena pronounced when she was sure the woman could not escape.

"What do you-?"

"We have the GLAAD event in two days," Lena said once more "and there's no way they'd send Stef to the police station to record a statement without Mike. He was abducted too."

"What're you-"

"My wife has a bullet wound right-" she touched the spot "there. She calls the kids her 'babies', and you didn't. She kisses me the first time we see each other every day, which you didn't do. And she strokes my spine when we hug."

"I guess I'll have to remember that next time."

"You may have fooled the kids in that brief encounter," Lena continued "but you can't fool me. You can't fool any of them for more than a few minutes. Which was why you needed to make up that excuse about recording the statement."

Someone knocked at the door. Lena opened it.

"Captain Roberts."

The woman strode into the room with a briefcase and a laptop bag.

"Stef and Mike are our own," she said without acknowledging the other woman in the room "you're not alone, Lena."

She set the equipment down on the bed and took her shoes off.

"I'm out of my jurisdiction," she explained "but I can still do something to help."

"Like what?" Lena asked.

"There's a special tracker chip on phones that work even when they're switched off. From what we know, they discovered Stef's phone about ten minutes into the ride when she and Mike were first abducted. You did the right thing, group-calling me. And you did the right thing by hanging up. You have incredible instincts, Lena."

"So you can find out where she is?"

"I can find out where _her_ _phone_ is," came the reply "it wasn't destroyed, just turned off."

"Why is she here?" Lena indicated the other woman in the room.

"Because they threatened _'dire consequences'_ if anyone raised the alarm. The courts aren't open on weekends, so you can't apply to drop the charges against Markham until Monday. You wouldn't cancel the GLAAD event, and you certainly couldn't show up without Stef. Ms. Polo volunteered to help you out."

"I don't like it," the curly-haired woman grunted "if you're going to have her stand in for Stef, you could have Sherri stand in for me."

"We considered it," the Police Captain said as she took her jacket off and rolled up her sleeves.

Lena was thankful that the kids hadn't been invited to the event. Much as she didn't want to let them out of her sight, she didn't want them exposed to whatever was going on either. She was sure that Brandon – and at least Jude – must have noticed that they hadn't been hugging the real Stef.

"What else is going on?" Lena asked as she sat on the bed.

The Captain sat on the bed. Lena was okay with her wife's boss sitting there. She wasn't okay with the impostor being in the room, however.

"The kids' rooms have been bugged," came the explanation "I've replaced the footage with a loop. So you don't have to worry about them being exposed. They know you know that Stef isn't really with you. I bet they thought you'd hire someone to impersonate her."

"AKA me," Teri Polo sighed.

"And they also think you'd hire someone to impersonate you at the GLAAD event, and that you'd stay with the kids."

"But...?"

"But you're going to the event with Ms. Polo here," Captain Roberts continued "and someone else will take your kids back to San Diego that night. We'll have some stand-ins for them in their hotel rooms. And a stand-in for you, as well."

"I will _NOT_ be separated from my kids."

"You have to attend the show," Captain Roberts sighed.

"Sherri Saum can do it for me."

"Sherri Saum has to be there, too."

"And Teri Polo doesn't?"

"I'm shooting a movie," the blonde woman replied "according to the rest of the world, I'm in Europe right now."

Lena longed for the arms of her wife. She was long overdue for a breakdown: for tears and wailing. But she had kids to protect. Kids who wouldn't be safe unless she played her part in the plan, and stayed away from them.

It was driving her crazy.

"They're going to be watching the surveillance footage of the kids very closely," Lena said as a vein throbbed in her forehead "for whichever reality TV station they want to send it to."

The Captain was impressed.

"But what are they going to use to make the kids go crazy?" The curly-haired woman asked once more. "Drugs? Alcohol?"

"Most likely both," the Captain admitted "it has to be some kind of substance that would make them go wild. Once Markham's assholes have footage of the kids acting out, unsupervised, they'll discredit you and Stef as good parents and turn the narrative against you. And it'll make your celebrity friends not want to help you anymore."

"Well, _this one_ wouldn't drop you," Teri declared.

"How soon can we get the stand-ins to the hotel room?" Mrs. Adams Foster was worried "I think the kids saw through Ms. Polo's disguise."

"If they did, then they're smart enough not to talk about it in the hotel," the Captain smirked "did you really think we'd leave the kids completely in the dark about the whole plan? They've had days to rehearse."

Lena let out a sigh of relief, and then became even more worried. And upset.

"You approached _my kids_ with this information without telling me?"

"We weren't sure if Markham would try something like this," the woman said as she stroked her afro "but we told them, just in case."

"Behind my back!"

"I can understand your being upset," the woman sighed "but Mike said it would be a good idea."

"Mike isn't their father!"

"He's Brandon's father. Look, we're not gonna get into this right now, Lena. Let's focus on getting them both back."

"Was Stef in on this?"

"She wasn't," the Captain replied "I swear."

There was a tense pause, during which Lena shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She had a question when she finally opened her eyes.

"Is that program scanning?"

"We've almost got a fix on the phone's location. I'm not the only one scanning."

"I feel so helpless."

"So do I," the Captain admitted.

Teri cleared her throat.

"So...what're you gonna wear to GLAAD?"

Lena shot her a fierce look that made her back away.

"Just tryna lighten the mood," the actress defended herself.

"You guys should get ready for that," Captain Roberts agreed as she got up and put her shoes back on "I'm gonna talk to my guys in the hallway."

"You have cops in the hallway?" Teri gasped.

"I have cops all over this town," came the reply "just because I'm not a Beverly Hills cop doesn't mean I don't have friends who are."

She packed up the laptop and put her jacket back on before she walked to the door.

"You two worry about dressing for the event and I'll see you in the morning. Oh, and Lena?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to sleep."

* * *

"Goodnight kids," Mrs. Adams Foster said.

"Goodnight Mama," they chorused.

None of them said goodnight to Mom. They _knew_.

"You should eat, you know," Teri said as she wheeled the trolley into the room.

"I'm not hungry."

"When's the last time you ate?"

"I...honestly don't know."

"Get it while it's hot," the actress announced as she removed the large metal lid "we've got some rice with beef stew. And chicken noodle soup. I ordered simple cos I didn't know what you...oh crap, you're vegan/vegetarian are you?"

"Definitely not," Lena said as she smell of the food floated across the room to her nose.

Her stomach growled, despite her hunger.

"Sorry...I must be hungry after all."

"Look," Teri said as she wheeled the trolley closer to the bed "I don't know your wife too well, but...she wouldn't want you to punish yourself."

"You're right," Lena smiled "she knows how to take care of a girl, that's for sure."

"I bet," the blonde actress smiled "you get this twinkle in your eye when you mention her name. I noticed that on the show. And I've never seen her without you, but I bet the glow she has is always there when you're in the room. I love watching people who're in love. I can't get enough of it."

"Are you hitting on us?" The curly-haired woman asked as she sat on the bed.

"Maybe," Teri laughed. She stood awkwardly and looked at the food.

"You can sit on the bed," Lena remarked "as long as all you do is sit."

"I guess we'll have that conversation later," the actress said as she dug in.

They ate in silence. Lena was hungry, but had to force herself to eat.

* * *

 **Please review. And thanks for the support y'all are showing by reading.**


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